Delhi HC to hear bail pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam in UAPA case on November 25

The Delhi High Court has posted the hearing on the bail plea of former JNU student Umar Khalid and student activist Sharjeel Imam, in a case related to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the communal riots here in February 2020, for November 25.

The bail pleas of Mr. Khalid and Mr. Imam, along with similar pleas by other co-accused in the case including ‘United Against Hate’ founder Khalid Saifi, were listed for a fresh hearing before a Bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Shalinder Kaur.

The Bench, however, did not assemble.

The cases were earlier heard by a Bench headed by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait but the judge was recently transferred to the Madhya Pradesh High Court as its Chief Justice.

Mr. Khalid, Mr. Imam and several others have been booked under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being the “masterminds” of the February 2020 riots, which had left 53 people dead and over 200 injured.

Mr. Khalid, who was arrested by the Delhi police in September 2020, has challenged a May 28 trial court order refusing to grant him bail in the case.

The police have accused Mr. Khalid of planning protests at 23 places which allegedly led to Delhi riots in 2020. He was then charged with criminal conspiracy, rioting, unlawful assembly as well as several other offences under the UAPA and has been lodged in jail since then.

Published - October 08, 2024 01:06 am IST